Saying yes...

The darkest hour is just before dawn...

We stayed in a number of different places while on the road. Some were chosen in advance... some were merely chosen by where we wanted to go that day or when we wanted to stop. One thing did not change... when we got there, Grizzled let me decide which side of the bed I was sleeping on.

Grizzled and I have been sharing beds for over 2 decades now. He said he used to think I always chose the same side, no matter the room, but he soon learned that was wrong. He then said he thought it was the side farthest away from the door, but that wasn't right either. He then realized it was safest to just let me pick... my picking being done the minute I walk in. I sense the side I want and plop my stuff down. I have been known to switch sides during a visit though if the room doesn't feel right, even though I know switching sides won't necessarily help. Sometimes the bed is just off.

We stayed in one of these rooms while on the road. It did not feel good to me and neither did the bed. I woke up in the middle of the night, certain something was in front of me. I could feel it. If I opened my eyes, I'd see it and I didn't want to. I also knew I had a chair next to my side of the bed and had put a bunch of my stuff in it so that was probably it. I opened my eyes and sure enough, saw a large, dark mass. I reached out, felt one of my bags and then something else that didn't feel familiar. I jumped and made some panicked noise.  I snatched my hand back in as fast as I could, pulled up the covers even though it was hot, and inched over to Grizzled's side... slowly enough that he wouldn't realize he only had 5 inches on which to sleep... and then I waited... it was a long night.

I'm not afraid of a lot, but my senses/imagination can have their way with me in the dark. Maybe it was too many horror movies as a kid... one too many scary novels, or camping out with friends and trying to scare the bejesus out of each other... or my brothers, who liked to torment like only brothers can... I like to be scared, but when I choose. I don't like to be afraid at night, which is why I'm glad I don't have to sleep alone... even when I was alone, I still had a dog. 

I remember when I was much younger and my grandmother was still alive and living by herself, I would ask her if she was afraid at night, wasn't she tempted to sleep with a light on... somewhere?? (She had a creepy basement with dirt walls... and a scary attic... those two places would immediately pop into my mind if I was staying overnight at her otherwise wonderful house....) She said she grew up with no electricity so darkness did not bother her. She also had the Lord to look over her... Well, Grandma's Lord gave me a wicked imagination that likes to mess with me... so again, I am glad I don't have to sleep alone. I am also glad I have someone who can sleep anywhere... and doesn't mind that I need to pick my side of the bed... or who doesn't mind when I leave him only 5 inches to sleep on because I am sure that something out of Grandma's basement is sitting next to my side.

The sinister wooly bison still haunts me... and it was in our hotel room that night... I know it.

Bad judgment

During our recent road trip, I heard a song that will forever make me think of fun and alcohol poisoning... I know, I know, I should not say those two things together, but thank gawd for whatever it is that gets us through our stupid decisions in life...

Imagine if you will... an endless heatwave... going grocery shopping with your roommate/bestest friend... deciding at 9AM that margaritas sound REALLY GOOD... so you buy LARGE QUANTITIES of STUFF at the store, deciding not to eat when you get home, but go straight to the margaritas...

Hours and hours later, after a person or two has left the party, and the margaritas became anything you and your roommate could mix with tequila, if mixing was really even necessary... and after the dancing around and on the table while wearing your roommate's red sheet; dancing to the song below, you decide you probably need a nap, but the man you've been seeing (and will eventually marry) has shown up, decides maybe you need dinner and prepares you food... and stays with you throughout the night, which is a good thing, because you wake up in the wee hours feeling sun burnt and insane... and he gets you water and helps you to the bathroom, and does all sorts of responsible things... while your crazy roommate somehow finds it within himself to actually go out on a first date!!!

That is what this song makes me think of... and when I hear it, I still smile... and thank my lucky stars...

 

Be careful what you wish for: fishcicle edition

This showed up in my mailbox (clarification: my email inbox... not my real mailbox, although that thought makes some of the guesses even funnier.) in the wee hours of the morning...first person who correctly guesses who sent it, wins a prize.

I'm glad we've only sent fish to the freezer. I don't think I want to see frozen Zombies. I'm guessing if Blue Girl was sent to the freezer, she's be even bluer, and we don't need to see that.

I don't know about thunder. Can you freeze thunder?? I know you can't catch the wind, but... can you freeze thunder.

Explaining Voice of the Day

“And at some point you realize that there are more flavors of pain than coffee. There's the little empty pain of leaving something behind ‒ graduating, taking the next step forward, walking out of something familiar and safe into the unknown. There's the big, whirling pain of life upending all of your plans and expectations. There's the sharp little pains of failure, and the more obscure aches of successes that didn't give you what you thought they would. There are the vicious, stabbing pains of hopes being torn up. The sweet little pains of finding others, giving them your love, and taking joy in their life as they grow and learn. There's the steady pain of empathy that you shrug off so you can stand beside a wounded friend and help them bear their burdens.

And if you are very, very lucky, there are a few blazing hot little pains you feel when you realize that you are standing in a moment of utter perfection, an instant of triumph, or happiness, or mirth which at the same time cannot possibly last ‒ and yet will remain with you for life.

Everyone is down on pain, because they forget something important about it: Pain is for the living. Only the dead don't feel it.”
― Jim Butcher, White Night

I think fish doth protest too much...

He claims to detest My Little Ponies, but then I happen upon this... a photo of fish in fully ponycorn regalia...

                                               

Photo borrowed from: http://poorlydressed.failblog.org/

Not a Real Speedra! Heh!

Mr. Thundra laughed in my general direction... saying my Daddy Long Legs-type speedra was not a real speedra! He was wrong. It was huge and angry and pulsing... it was waiting to pounce... I barely got away with my life! I did not, however, get away with my lunch...

I can't believe I'm now posting spider pictures. I'll be flagellating myself next...

The Cherry on My Summer O' Crap Sundae

You get 7 inches of rain in two hours during the middle of the night... finish the scenario.

Bonus points for extra laughs. These supposedly once in a lifetime weather events that seem to happen once every 6-18 months are getting old.

HALP!!!

What's your guaranteed, go-to, mood-lifter song?? I have mine, but so far, they're not working. As a matter of fact, they're having the opposite effect. 

I woke up this morning, feeling the need to get some endorphins going asap, but life got in the way. I now need pick-me-up, before going into the dreadful afternoon. You know I don't like those, no matter how beautiful they are... I need musical intervention... stat.

Any suggestions?

I'm guessing around 5, I'll even be willing to give Rush a try...

Summer Blogging in One Post!

Garden. Garden. Flower. Butterfly. Fucking rain! Dog. Dog. Dog. Lake. Grizzled. Garden. Lamblet. Lamblet. Lamblet. Driver's Ed. AHHHHHHH! Lamblet. Hot! Too chilly! Wet! Where's the rain?!?! FUN!!! Woo-HOO!! Grrrr! WTF?? Still can't access any of ZRM's many blogs... 3B's! What contest?! Garden. Garden. Painting. Painting. Grrrr. Life is good. WTF??? Dick joke. Dick joke. Thought-provoking post. Dick joke. Garden. Animules. Painting! Grrrr... painting!!@!1 FRUSTRATION! In the zone. Fireflies!! Ah, summer smell. Butterflies! Orbs!!! Orbflies!! Thundra. Von. LOL! Garden. Dogs. Frustration. Satisfaction. Good. Bad. Love everyone. Hate everyone. Weeds. WEEDS! BG!! Lake. Reading. Thinking. Anniversary. Snag. Birthday. Cicadas. School? Already?

Teh Zombeh Plague Spreads....

Way back when... when lamblets were oh-so-young... and their parents were kind of young... said parents figured anything put away for college would be good... even if it was just a silly ol' state college plan... so there would be something... just something to start with... long gone were the days of parents paying out of pocket as my parents were fortunate enough to do, for all of their kids, back when tuition was still something that seemed reasonable, along with the price of a car and a CEO's pay... but those days were long gone... so the young parents (younger than some) figured they'd at least start with this... and it did ok... while other plans went under and class action suits abounded, theirs was OK... until today when Grizzled sent me this.

I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise. Nothing in politics or concerning money is really a surprise anymore. What really sucks though is that Grizzled just sent in the last payment for the youngest lamblet this morning... the Eldest Lamblet's having been finished just last year. Eleven years of payments possibly down the drain. Oh well... there are scholarships and loans and if that fails, there are fry badges at McDonald's.

Stuff is fucked up. Stuff has been fucked up for a while. I wish it would stop.